


WWTDD?

by biichan



Series: Last of the Time Ladies [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, Snippets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-04-16
Updated: 2010-06-14
Packaged: 2017-10-08 23:38:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/80671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biichan/pseuds/biichan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scenes from an alternate universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Last Of The…

**Author's Note:**

> These scenes all take place in the same alternate universe as [Dread Pirate Roberts](http://archiveofourown.org/works/35836>). If you don't want to be spoiled for that fic, read it first.

Her name wasn't really the Doctor. Of course, even the original Doctor's name hadn't really been the Doctor, so she didn't feel much shame in using it when her own name was so much ashes in her mouth. It was a good name. A reliable name.

She needed that sense of reliability.

It was easy to find the TARDIS wardrobe again and a relief to take off her formal robes. Part of her wanted to burn them—

_the way that Gallifrey had burned_

—but the other part of her knew that there would come a day when she'd be grateful for even that small reminder of home, even if it was also a reminder of her failure.

She thought at first she ought to dress in blue, the color of mourning, but there was nothing of that color that she felt she could wear for more than a few days at a time. Instead she dressed in black: loose-legged velvet trouser, baggy silk blouse, stiletto heels, and the leather jacket she'd found hanging on the TARDIS coat-rack. It must have belonged to one of the assistants, she thought.

There was a mirror in back. She examined herself in it, looking for some sign that her world had ended, that the universe had changed. But she was still the same as she'd been the last few decades: same flapper bob, same elegant silent film star looks. A visible reminder of all the ways she'd failed. She hated it.

She didn't deserve to change it.

"What am I going to do now?" she whispered. Her reflection had no answer.

Romanadvoratrelundar closed her eyes tightly and tried very hard not to cry.


	2. WWTDD?

In the end it came down to one simple phrase: _what would the Doctor do?_ The answer to that was _save the galaxy, mostly_ and _especially Planet Earth_. Earth always had been one of his favorite worlds—it barely made her top ten and that was during the good eras. (In fact, it was just slightly vexing that Earth never seemed able to save itself, despite the number of alien fighting organizations it evidently possessed.)

Her tastes didn't matter, however, so Romana began spending a great deal more time visiting the Sol System than she normally would.

Which was how she ended up blowing up a department store.

To be fair, the Autons _were_ preparing to stage an invasion. Unfortunately, the explosion only delayed things for half-a-day and by the time they'd begun really attacking in earnest, Romana had somehow ended up with an assistant.

Romana wasn't quite sure if she wanted or needed an assistant, to be quite frank. She thought she worked rather well on her own. And even when she'd had assistants—Biroc, Duggan, Amelia, etc—they'd been a bit older (relative to the lifespans of their respective species, of course.) Girls barely out of adolescence were more the Doctor's thing, not hers.

Had been more.

Oh, _damn_ it.

The girl was fairly adventurous, athletic, and reasonably pretty. Charismatic, actually. Hardly more than average intelligence—and that for a human—but frankly, Romana was used to being the brains of the operation. And the girl had managed to notice that ridiculously large Ferris Wheel that Romana had somehow managed to overlook while trying to figure out where the Autons had hidden their transmitter.

It was odd, Romana thought, as she and the girl—Rose—dragged Rose's boyfriend into the TARDIS as the sub-basement exploded around them, but having to save Planet Earth yet again wasn't so annoying this time around. She could handle things on her own, of course, but it was nice having someone else to save the day with. Maybe _that_ was why the Doctor had always had assistants.

"Do you want to keep doing this?" she asked Rose after she set the TARDIS in motion, nervously fingering the scarf that she'd hung from the hat rack. "Saving planets, I mean. Well, mostly. Every once in a while I just go somewhere on holiday, but I mostly try to keep busy. You'd be quite helpful."

Rose bit her lip and didn't say anything. Romana frowned. This wasn't as easy as the Doctor made it look. Had she told the girl that the TARDIS traveled in time?

"It travels in time," she said. "Not just space. Your mother wouldn't even realize you were gone."

Rose glanced over at her boyfriend, who was currently backing away from K9 as if he were afraid the robot dog would bite him. "What about Mickey?"

Romana hesitated. He'd been next to useless in the whole affair and quite frankly, he hadn't given her any indication that he'd do any better the next time. If there would be a next time. The thought of her and Rose always having to rescue him _every single adventure_ was daunting.

She closed her eyes and thought: _What would the Doctor do?_

Romana opened her eyes and smiled. "Of course," she said. "The more the merrier."


End file.
